Plymouth Whalers' Sonny Milano Set to Return on Friday

Photo by Rena Laverty. Play by play produced by Pete Krupsky.

Plymouth Whalers fans looking for a “Sonny Day” will get their wish on Friday.

Sonny Milano is scheduled to make his Plymouth debut on Friday when the Whalers host the Mississauga Steelheads at 7:05 pm at Compuware Arena.

Friday’s game is a $6 Value night. Seats in sections 105-110 are offered at $6.

Milano was injured on Sept. 12 while playing for Columbus in the 2014 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City and has been rehabbing ever since.

Friday’s game is also the return of one-time Compuware Youth program member Sean Day, who was granted exceptional status in 2013 and was selected by Mississauga in the first round (fourth overall) in the 2013 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

By all accounts, Day is starting to show the talent and maturity expected of an exceptional player.

Sonny Milano and Sean Day, playing on the same ice surface for $6? That’s a great value for fans of all ages.

Plymouth starts the weekend playing in Thursday on Windsor (7 pm, 88.1FM WSDP) before hosting the Steelheads on Friday and Kitchener on Saturday at 7:05 pm in the Whalers annual Trick-or-Treat Night.

The Whalers will play without defensemen Mitch Jones and Gianluca Curcuruto, who were both suspended during the Whalers Eatsren Ontario road trip last weekend.

Jones is serving an eight-game suspension by the Ontario Hockey League after being assessed a checking-to-the-head major on Oct. 17 in Kingston. Jones can return Oct. 30. Curcuruto was assessed a 12-game suspension by th Ontario Hockey League after being assessed a checking-to-the-head major on Sunday in Ottawa.

Plymouth is also playing without Alex Peters (lower body), Liam Dunda (upper body) and Alex Nedeljkovic (upper body). Nedeljkovic is close to returning.

Plymouth GM Mark Craig is encouraged by the play of several young players, who are using the suspensions and injuries as an opportunity for more ice time.

“Our young guys are improving and that’s a good sign,” said Craig.

Goaltender Zack Bowman and first-year forwards Nicholas Caamano and Will Bitten were major contributors in the Whalers’ 4-3 shootout win in Peterborough last Saturday.

Bowman stopped 45-of-48 Peterborough shots to earn’s the game’s third star.

“I have to give their goalie (Bowman) credit. He played well,” Peterborough head coach Jody Hull told the Peterborough Examiner. “There are going to be times when you run into a hot goalie.”

“I thought they were better than us tonight but we, fortunately, got some timely goals,” said Whalers’ coach Don Elland. “They dominated us at times but with what we have in the lineup right now, a victory is a victory.”

Elland was happy for Bowman.

“He’s worked hard this year knowing it was going to be hard playing behind (Nedeljikovic),” said Elland. “He’s been good in practice being prepared and now that Ned’s down for a while he played well in Kingston last night and was really good tonight.”

Audio - Listen to the shootout.

The Whalers also got a lift in the game for Caamano, who scored his first OHL goal in the second period to tie the game at 1-1.

Good forechecking by the forward line of Caamano, Victor Crus Rydberg and Matt Mistele set the play in motion. The line pounded the puck deep in the Peterborough zone and pursued it relentlessly. The puck came to Caamano and he buried in the slot.

Audio - Listen to the goal.

Later in the game, Bitten got into the winning act.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the third period, the line of Bitten, Cullen Mercer and Bitten forechecked deep into the Petes’ zone, taking on a bigger stronger, Peterborough defense.Like Caamano’s goal, the line kept the play alive in the Petes zone for an extended period before Mercer slammed it home to give Plymouth a 3-2 lead at the time.

AUDIO - Listen to the goal.

After this weekend, the Whalers get involved with their annual Pink Out! week.